Fast Day Food – 5:2 Diet Asian Chicken Wraps

5:2 Diet Asian Chicken Wraps – Fast Day Meal Plan:

Asian chicken wraps in a lettuce leaf are one of the prettiest 5:2 diet recipes I make.  For me, one of the challenges of a 5:2 fast day menu is how to eat well without including a large portion of rice, potatoes or similar.  Particularly in winter when I tend to yearn for warm food rather than salads and sometimes feel as if I am living on diet soup recipes. My favourite local Chinese restaurant serves Hunan, Szechuan and Taiwanese food.  Perhaps at the spicier end of Chinese food, it’s a real local treasure.  I have a tendency to be lazy when I visit and pick the ‘leave it to us chef’s special menu’.  And one of my favourite dishes is called ‘nest of imperial jewels’ –  chopped prawns with mustard greens, served in an iceberg lettuce leaf.  I love picking up the little parcels of lettuce and decided today to make my own version for my 5:2 diet fast day.

I had chicken, so that is the basis of my version – and I wanted to include vegetables, so very finely diced onion, carrot and celery were added.  The sauce, I know from experience, needs to be gloopy and thick, so I used some oyster sauce and half a teaspoon of cornflour.  And, it was absolutely delicious!  It is quite spicy so if you prefer a milder flavour use half a chilli rather than a whole one.  But remember that chilli and ginger are thermogenic foods and will help keep your metabolism working well on a 5:2 diet fast day.

Print

5:2 Diet Asian Chicken Wraps

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

6 mins

Total Time

31 mins

 

A very low-calorie dish for the 5:2 diet or any other weight loss programme

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1 Small Chicken Breast 100g (Sliced into matchstick sized strips along the grain)
• 1 Spring onion Top and tailed, then sliced into 1/2cm pieces
• 1 Small Carrot Peeled and finely diced
• 1 stick Celery Top and tailed and finely diced
• 1/2 Small Onion Finely chopped (or use a second spring onion and dice finely)
• 1 piece Fresh Ginger About 2cm. Peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon Mirin
• 1/2 tablespoon Oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
• 1 clove Garlic Crushed or finely chopped
• 1 Red chilli De-seeded and sliced finely
• 1/2 teaspoon Cornflour
• 1 teaspoon Sunflower oil
• 2-3 Iceberg Lettuce leaves

Instructions

1. Mix together the soy, oyster sauce, mirin, chilli, garlic, and cornflour.

2. Add  the chicken and leave to marinade for at least 20 minutes and up to 8 hours

3.  Heat the oil in a non-stick wok till smoking slightly

4. Add all the diced vegetables and stir-fry for 2 minutes

5. Add the chicken and marinade and stir-fry for a further 2-3 minutes till the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thickened. If necessary add water to keep the sauce thick but not burnt.

6. Put a tablespoon of the mixture into the centre of each iceberg lettuce leaf and if you like, garnish with a little fresh coriander

7. Wrap up into a roll and eat with your fingers

Now, I really loved this 5:2 diet dish.  I did a nutritional analysis and here’s the breakdown for you.  The only nutritional challenge is the salt level, I’d suggest using low salt soy as I do think this dish benefits from a good spoonful.

I think you could also vary this by making it with prawns or scallops, or even pork.  And it would make a fabulous healthy canape for parties if you used smaller pieces of lettuce.

For me,  today’s 5:2 diet meal plan has been as follows:

Breakfast – None
Lunch – Home made red cabbage soup – 120 cals
Supper – Asian Chicken Wraps – 279 cals
Milk for coffee and tea throughout the day – 50 cals
Late night snack allowance – 50 cals

So far I haven’t felt hungry but I’m rather pleased to have a few calories left over in case I am a bit later on.  One thing to consider when you are working out what to eat on a 5:2 diet fast day is the weight of the foods you are eating.  I actually weighed my chicken breast and it was almost 200g, so if I’d eaten it all the calorie count of the wraps would have gone up by just over 100 calories.  Personally, I’m willing to be ultra careful on 5:2 diet fast days on the basis that it allows me the freedom to do what I want for the rest of the week.  Portion control is absolutely crucial for the 5:2 diet, as is avoiding snacking on most things even if you might consider them to be healthy  (for example, 10 almonds will add 100 calories!)

Good luck to you if you are following the 5:2 fast diet whether it’s for health reasons, to lose weight, or a bit of both.  So far I’ve lost 7kg – and I’d like to lose a further 5kg.  But I’ve taken a few ‘holidays’ from my dieting (over Christmas and for two trips overseas).  And, what I’ve found most encouraging is that I don’t seem to be putting the weight back on when I do take a break (half a kilo at Christmas, but lost after 2 fast days).  So for me, the 5:2 fast diet is giving me the most success of any diet I’ve ever tried.  I hope it works for you too.  If you need more ideas, do check out my other 5:2 recipes and for some simple advice 5:2 diet tips.

Meanwhile, why not pin this post for later: